Suspension railway and car hanger



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. A. ENOS.

SUSPENSION RAILWAY AND GAR HANGER.

No. 331.387. Patented Dec. 1,1885.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

. BY @M 4; w

ATTORNEYS.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model) J. A. ENOS.

SUSPENSION RAILWAY AND GAR HANGER.

DTVENTOR:

. ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 1, 1885.

WITNESSES! M (No Model.)

4 SheetsSheet 3; J. A. ENOS.

SUSPENSION RAILWAY ANDGAR HANGER.

No. 331,387. Patented Dec. 1, 1885.

DTVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

(N0 ModeL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. J. A. ENOS.

SUSPENSION RAILWAY AND GAR HANGER No. 381,387. Patented Dec. 1, 1885.

IN'VENTOR: J 6 BY flan/Ag WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

N. PUERs. Phuw-Liihugmpher. Washmgtcn. D. a

UNITED STATES PATENT OE TUE.

JOHN AUGUSTUS ENOS, OF PEABODY, ASSIGNOR OF TWVO-THIRDS TO MATTHEW H. ROBINSON, OF QUINCY, AND ORLANDO A. FOSTER,

OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS.

SUSPENSION-RAILWAY AND CAR-HANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,387, dated December 1, 1885.

Application filed April 24, 1885. Serial No. 163,309. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN AUGUSTUS ENos, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peabody, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suspension-Railways and Oar-Hangers, of which the following is a description.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the relation of the truck, track, hanger, and car, with parts of the hanger broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are views taken at right angles to each other, and on an enlarged scale, of the apart, and a diagonal brace, B

lower portion of the hanger. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are details showing modifications.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved suspension-railway and car-hanger designed to sustain a street passenger-car from a point above its center of gravity, and yet allow the car to be close enough to the curb or level of the sidewalk to allow passengers to get on or alight from the car in the usual way.

It consists in such peculiar construction of the elevated railway and its combination with the hanger-truck for sustaining the car and causing it to travel along on said track and climb grades in a safe and smooth manner as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The car itself I have made the subject'matter of a separate application, filed this same day, and while not claimed herein, it is shown for the purpose of rendering the connections and mode of operation of the other parts more apparent.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, A represents an iron post or standard, which is buried at its lower end in the sidewalk, and has its end bolted and securely braced to a metal shoe that is bolted to a granite block. At the top of this post are two horizontal projecting bars, B B, about four and a half feet To the outer ends of these bars is attached a vertical trestle-work of iron, composed of crossed diagonal bars B vertical bars, 13, and horizontal bars, 13*". On the upper side of this trestle-work is laid a continuous wooden stringer, 0, having a continuous rail, 0

thereon a continuous rail, 0, and to the lower side of the trestle-work is attached a continuous Wooden stringer, G to which is attached The upper rail is designed to support the weight of the car through a truck, and'the lower rail is designed to act as a guide in connection with wheels on the hanger or the car, to prevent it from swaying about, and to provide means also for euabling the car to climb grades, as hereinafter described. The car is sustained upon the upper rail by a truck, D, whose particular construction is described and claimed in another application of even date herewith. This truck has two sets of pendent hangerbars, F F, each of which passes down to and is securely riveted or bolted to a curved metal arm, E. This arm is curved so as to bring its point a: of articulation with the car exactly under the wheels of the supporting-truck. hanger-bars F connect with or support the front end of the car, and the other set of bars F connect with and support the rear end of the car, and between the two points there is a raised inclosure, P, in which is located the motor for driving the car, which is an electric motor adapted to take the current from two continuous conductors located on the trestle- Work by means of suitable brushes or rollers in a manner well known to electricians, and which motor transmits its driving-power to the wheels of the upper supporting-truck through the chain G, which passes around the gear-wheels of the supporting-truck.

I will now describe the means for guiding the car and preventing it from swaying from the wind or other cause, and enabling it also to climb grades.

One set of To the point where the car is jointed to the I which and the plate E are arranged four guideposts, G on which are guided the two journal-boxes G G which sustain a shaft, G, carrying the flanged guide-wheel G, that runs against the lower rail.

Between the journal-boxes G and the plate E and around the guide-post G5 are disposed spiral springs H, which serve to press the pulley Gr upward against the rail with a gentle steadying pressure. The shaft G of the pulley is extended out on each side beyond its journal-boxes, and is provided with an enlarged head, between which and the journal-boxes a spiral spring, G is arranged,which allows for aslight lateral sway of the car and the hangerbar F without disconnecting the flanged guidewheel from the rail.

To hold the car steady against swinging about the joint at the lower end of the curved bar E, guy-rods I run from the top of curved bar Eto the sides of the car on each side, and at the car they pass through brackets b, Figs. 1 and 2, and terminate in heads a, and between the brackets and a collar, 0, on the rods a spiral spring, d, is wound,which is kept in compression and forms a yielding connection to hold the car stiffly about its suspendingjoint, the heads on the ends of the guy-rods serving to limit the motion which these springs allow by striking against the under' side of the bracket.

To the two journal-boxes of the wheel G the two arms e 6, Figs. 3 and 4, of a vertical bar, J, are attached, which bar J is connected at its lower end to the short end of a lever, K, which is fnlcrumed at f to the frame E E, and extends to a position at one end of the car,(see Fig. 1,) to be operated upon by a pull-rope. By pulling this rope and the lever .the journal-boxes of the wheel G are thrown upwardly,and the wheel is pressed more forcibly against the lower rail. This, it will be seen, causes the truck-wheels above to impinge more tightly on the upper rail by a downward pull on the hanger-bar F, or, rather, causes the two rails to be more tightly pinched by the upper and lower track wheels, which gives a greater friction and increased tractive power for climbing grades.

With respect to the use of thelowcr rail and its wheel G, thisis mainly to act as a guide to keep the car from swinging about its point of support on the upper rails. Its effectiveness for this purpose is dependent upon the distance it is located below the upper truck. I prefer to use it as shown, for while it sulficiently guides the car and prevents swaying it serves the additional function of enabling me by the mechanism just described to climb grades by varying the tractive power of the wheels on the rails. I may, however, in some instances locate this guide-rail andwheel G at the side of the car, as shown in Fig. 7, or at the bottom of the car, as shown in Fig. 6, or

I may arrange said rail in the same relation to the trestle-work as in Fig. 2, but construct it with a deep web, and have two anti-friction rollers to engage with it from opposite sides, as shown in Fig. 5.

and a truck with a set of wheels arranged in the same plane and mounted thereon, a curved hanger depending therefrom, a car fastened to the hanger immediately beneath the vertical line of the supporting-truck wheels, and a subjacent track and guide-wheel, arranged as shown and described, to prevent the swaying of the car about its upper supporting-rail.

2. The combination of an elevated rail or track, a supporting-truck mounted thereon and provided with a curved hanger-bar, a car fastened to the hanger in the vertical line of the truck-wheels, and a lower rail and guidewheel arranged in the vertical line of the upper rail, the said guide-wheel being connected to the hanger, substantially as shown and de scribed.

3. The combination, with the post A, the horizontal bars B B, and diagonal brace B ,of the vertical trestle-work B B B the upper and lower stringers, O and G and the upper and lower rails, O and 0 substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination, with the upper and lower rails, 0 C of the hanger having a supporting-truck at its upper end, a car attached to its lower end, an adjustable guide-wheel bearing against the lower rail, and means, substantially as described, for increasing the pressure of this guide-wheel against its rail to increase the friction and tractive power of the trucks for climbing grades, as described.

5. The combination of the upper and lower tracks, the hanger F, having a supportingtruck at its upper-end and a car attached to its lower end, the curved bar E and framework E E, plates E with yokes G and posts G the guided and vertical adjustable jourrial-boxes G springs H, and the shaft G and pulley G, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with the hanger Fand the guide-rail C of the guide-wheel G, having its shaft extended beyond its journalboxes and provided with springs G", as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination, with the hanger-frame E E, of the lever K, rod J, having arms 6 e, and the guide-wheel G, having its journalboxes attached to the arms 6 e, as and for the tie connections with the car at their lower suspended on said rail, and means for moving ends. thereon, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with a single trackn rail, of a suspended passenger-car; a curved JOHN AUGUSTUb ENOS' 5 hanger-bar, a truck attached to the upper end Witnesses:

0f the hanger-bar, and having a set of spring- EDWD. W. BYRN, seated wheels arranged in the same plane and CHAS. A. PETTIT. 

